Daily Devotional

Scripture Readings

Paschalion — Movable Calendar

Monday of the Sixteenth Week

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians [§ 211].

4 ²⁸Brethren, after the manner of Isaac, we are children of promise. ²⁹But as then he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. ³⁰But what saith the Scripture? “Cast out the maidservant and her son; for in no wise shall the son of the maidservant inherit with the son of the free woman [cf. Gen. 21:10].” ³¹So then, brethren, we are not children of a maidservant, but of the free woman.

5 ¹Keep on standing fast therefore in the freedom with which Christ set us free, and cease being held fast again with a yoke of slavery. ²Behold, I Paul say to you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. ³And I testify again to every man being circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. ⁴Ye are deprived of all effect from the Christ, ye who are trying to be justified in the law; ye fell from grace. ⁵For we by the Spirit out of faith eagerly await the hope of righteousness. ⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision hath any strength, nor uncircumcision, but faith energizing itself through love. ⁷Ye were running well; who cut in on you that ye should not be persuaded to the truth? ⁸The persuasion is not from the One Who calleth you. ⁹A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. ¹⁰I have confidence in regard to you in the Lord, that ye will not be otherwise minded; but the one who troubleth you shall bear the judgment, whosoever he may be.

Gospel

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark [§ 27]. At that time:

6 ⁵⁴After Jesus came out of the ship, straightway those of the country of Gennesaret recognized Him, ⁵⁵and ran around that whole country round about, and began to carry about on the beds those who were ill to where they were hearing, “He is there.” ⁵⁶And wheresoever He entered, into villages or cities or fields, in the marketplaces they kept on laying those who were sick, and beseeching Him that they might touch if just the fringe of His garment; and as many as would touch Him were made well.

7 ¹And the Pharisees and some of the scribes, who came from Jerusalem, gathered together to Him. ²And after they saw some of His disciples eating loaves with defiled hands, that is, unwashed hands, they found fault. ³For the Pharisees and all the Jews, unless they wash their hands, up to the elbow, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. ⁴And on coming from the marketplace, unless they perform ablutions for themselves, they eat not. And there are many other things which they received and hold: dippings of cups and pitchers and copper vessels and couches. ⁵Then the Pharisees and the scribes questioned Him, “Why do Thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?” ⁶And He answered and said to them, “Well did Esaias prophesy concerning you, the hypocrites, as it hath been written: ‘This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me [Is. 29:13]. ⁷“‘And in vain they revere Me, teaching as precepts the commandments of men [Is. 29:13].’ ⁸“For having left the commandment of God, ye keep on holding the tradition of men—dippings of pitchers and cups, and many other such like things ye do.”

Menaion — Fixed Calendar

The commemoration of the Forefeast of the Cross, and the dedication of the Church of the Holy Resurrection of Christ our God.

Epistle

The Reading is from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews [§ 307].

3 ¹Holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, ²Who was faithful to the One Who made Him, as also was “Moses in all His house [cf. Num. 12:7].” ³For this One hath been deemed worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as the one who built the house hath more honor than it. ⁴For every house is built by someone; but the One Who hath built all things is God.

Gospel

For the Cross:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint John [§ mid 42]. The Lord said:

12 ²⁵“The one who loveth his life shall lose it; and the one who hateth his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal. ²⁶“If anyone serve Me, let him keep on following Me; and where I am, there My servant shall be also. And if anyone serve Me, the Father shall honor him. ²⁷“Now My soul hath been troubled; and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’; but on this account I came to this hour. ²⁸“Father, glorify Thy name.” Then a voice came out of the heaven: “I both glorified it and will glorify it again.” ²⁹The crowd then that stood by and heard it was saying that thunder had occurred; others were saying, “An angel hath spoken to Him.” ³⁰Jesus answered and said, “This voice hath not occurred for My sake, but for your sakes. ³¹“Now is a judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. ³²“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself.” ³³But He was saying this, signifying by what manner of death He was about to die. ³⁴The crowd answered Him, “We heard out of the law that the Christ abideth forever; and how sayest Thou, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵Then Jesus said to them, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Be walking while ye have the light, that darkness might not overtake you; and indeed the one who walketh in the darkness knoweth not where he goeth. ³⁶“While ye have the light, keep on believing in the light, that ye might become sons of light.” Jesus spoke these things, and departed, and was hidden from them.

For the Church of the Resurrection:

The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew [§ 67]. At that time:

16 ¹³After Jesus came into the parts of Cæsarea Philippi, He began to ask His disciples, saying, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, and others Elias, and others Jeremias or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He saith to them, “But ye, whom do ye say that I am?” ¹⁶And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, the living One.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered and said to him, “Happy art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood did not reveal this to thee, but My Father Who is in the heavens. ¹⁸“And I say also to thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her.”

Lives of the Saints (Prologue)

September 26th – Civil Calendar
September 13th – Church Calendar

1. The Consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

When the holy Empress Helena found the Lord’s Cross in Jerusalem, she stayed longer in the city and built churches in Gethsemane, in Bethlehem, on the Mount of Olives and in other places that commemorated the life and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. On Golgotha, where she found the Precious Cross, she began to build an enormous church, under whose roof would be the places both where the Lord was crucified and where He was buried, the holy empress wanting to bring under one roof the places of His suffering and His glory. But Helena went to the Lord before this magnificent church was completed. It was finished in the same year in which Constantine completed thirty years on the throne, and so the consecration of the church and the emperor’s Jubilee were fixed for the same day, September 13th, 335. At that time, a local council of bishops was meeting in Tyre. These bishops, with many others, made their way to Jerusalem, to the solemn consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of the Lord. It was then instituted that this day, as a day of victory and triumph for the Church of Christ, should be celebrated every year.

2. The Hieromartyr Cornelius the Centurion.

A Roman and an officer in Palestinian Caesarea, he was baptized by the Apostle Peter after a heavenly vision (Acts 10:1), and was the first pagan to enter the Church of God. Until then, some thought that the Church of Christ was only for the Jews and for those who received Jewish circumcision. Being baptized, Cornelius left everything and followed the Apostle Peter. The apostle later made him bishop and sent him to the pagan town of Skepseis, where holy Cornelius suffered much humiliation and pain for the sake of Christ. But, by the power of God, he destroyed the temple of Apollo and baptized the prince of that town, Demetrius, and two hundred and seventy seven pagans. Forewarned by God of the day of his death, he gathered all the Christians together, gave them counsel, prayed to God and peacefully went to his Lord full of years. In time, his grave was forgotten and neglected, but the saint appeared to Silvanos, the Bishop of Troas, and showed him the whereabouts of his grave, commanding him to build a church there. The bishop did so, with the help of a wealthy citizen, Evgenios. Many miracles have been performed over his relics.

3. The Holy Martyrs Macrobius and Gordian.

From Pamphlagonia, they were at first imperial cup-bearers, but when they revealed that they were Christians, the emperor exiled them to Sceta, where they were cast into the flames in a place called New Danube, in the year 320.

4. The Holy Martyr Ketevana, Queen of Georgia.

She suffered as a Christian under Shah Abbas I, in 1624. By order of the Shah, a white-hot helmet was placed on her head. Her son Taymuraz, King of Georgia, laid her relics under the throne in the church at Alaverdsk in Georgia.

5. Our Holy Father Hierotheos.

Born in the Peloponnese in the village of Kalamata, he lived in asceticism in the monastery of Iviron on the Holy Mountain. He was distinguished by great secular learning and by strict monastic asceticism, and was at pains to fulfill the rule of St. Arsenius: ‘It is enough for a monk to sleep one hour out of the twenty-four.’ He entered into rest in 1745 on the island of Varos, and his relics have wonder-working power. Of these relics, his head is preserved in the monastery of Iviron. On touching his holy relics in Constantinople, a blind woman received her sight.

FOR CONSIDERATION

What happens to the persecutors of Christ’s Church? Ask Saul, the persecutor of the Church, what happened to him. ‘It is hard for thee to kick against the goads’ (Acts 9:5), said the Lord to Saul, and Saul was baptized and became Paul. What happened to Herod, the first persecutor of Christians? What happened to Julian the Apostate! They died an evil death, and their struggle against Christ dispersed into nothing, like smoke. And so throughout history: some persecutors became Christians and others had an evil end. The efforts of the one and the other against Christianity dispersed into nothing, like smoke. The Emperor Hadrian, attacking Jerusalem, meant to be revenged not only on the Jews but also on the Christians, making no distinction between the two. He scattered the Jews throughout the world, and in the place where Solomon’s Temple had been, built a temple for idol-worship. He also re-named Jerusalem Aelia, after his own name, and forbade anyone to call it Jerusalem. He built a temple on Golgotha to the foul Venus, a temple to Zeus over the Lord’s tomb and a temple to Adonis in Bethlehem. How distressed the Christians of that time must have been, seeing their holy places defiled in such a way! But what happened in the end? The Emperor Hadrian died an evil death, and the pagan temples were pulled down in the time of the Empress Helena and the Emperor Constantine, who in their place built beautiful churches, some of which remain to this day. ‘It is hard to kick against the goads.’ Oh, what a hopeless despair is the lot of all who struggle against Christ!

Daily Scripture Readings taken from The Orthodox New Testament, translated and published by Holy Apostles Convent, Buena Vista, Colorado, copyright © 2000, used with permission, all rights reserved.

Daily Prologue Readings taken from The Prologue of Ochrid, by Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic, translated by Mother Maria, published by Lazarica Press, Birmingham, England, copyright © 1985, all rights reserved. Edited by Dormition Skete.